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inviting

[in-vahy-ting]
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adjective
  1. attractive, alluring, or tempting: an inviting offer.
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Origin of inviting

First recorded in 1580–90; invite + -ing2
Related formsin·vit·ing·ly, adverbin·vit·ing·ness, noun

invite

[verb in-vahyt; noun in-vahyt]
verb (used with object), in·vit·ed, in·vit·ing.
  1. to request the presence or participation of in a kindly, courteous, or complimentary way, especially to request to come or go to some place, gathering, entertainment, etc., or to do something: to invite friends to dinner.
  2. to request politely or formally: to invite donations.
  3. to act so as to bring on or render probable: to invite accidents by fast driving.
  4. to call forth or give occasion for: Those big shoes invite laughter.
  5. to attract, allure, entice, or tempt.
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verb (used without object), in·vit·ed, in·vit·ing.
  1. to give invitation; offer attractions or allurements.
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noun
  1. Informal. an invitation.
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Origin of invite

First recorded in 1525–35, invite is from the Latin word invītāre
Related formsin·vi·tee [in-vi-tee, -vahy-] /ˌɪn vɪˈti, -vaɪ-/, nounin·vit·er, in·vi·tor, nounpre·in·vite, verb (used with object), pre·in·vit·ed, pre·in·vit·ing.qua·si-in·vit·ed, adjectivere·in·vite, verb, re·in·vit·ed, re·in·vit·ing.self-in·vit·ed, adjectiveun·in·vit·ed, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for invite on Thesaurus.com
1. bid. 2. solicit. 5. lure, draw.

Synonym study

1. See call.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inviting

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It was the marshal calling to them that Andrew was gone and inviting them in to finish him.

  • There was self-assertion, but not of the antagonistic—solely of the inviting sort.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • Beyond Schwitter's the highroad stretched, broad and inviting, across the State.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • I knew that she was inviting me to follow her, but I refused to move.

    Green Mansions

    W. H. Hudson

  • He bent forward a little, with the air of inviting a confidence.

    Tiverton Tales

    Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for inviting

inviting

adjective
  1. tempting; alluring; attractive
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Derived Formsinvitingly, adverbinvitingness, noun

invite

verb (ɪnˈvaɪt) (tr)
  1. to ask (a person or persons) in a friendly or polite way (to do something, attend an event, etc)he invited them to dinner
  2. to make a request for, esp publicly or formallyto invite applications
  3. to bring on or provoke; give occasion foryou invite disaster by your actions
  4. to welcome or tempt
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noun (ˈɪnvaɪt)
  1. an informal word for invitation
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Derived Formsinviter, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin invītāre to invite, entertain, from in- ² + -vītāre, probably related to Greek hiesthai to be desirous of
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for inviting

adj.

"attractive, alluring," c.1600, from present participle of invite (v.).

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invite

v.

1530s, a back-formation from invitation, or else from Middle French inviter (5c.), from Latin invitare. As a noun variant of invitation it is attested from 1650s. Related: Invited; inviting.

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invite

n.

1650s, from invite (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper